French Lecture Series

Professor Dru Pagliassotti will present Appearing Steampunk:& NeoVictorian Aesthetics and Themes within La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children)In January 2013, IBM declared steampunk the next big cultural meme; in February 2014, Project Runway: Under the Gunn challenged its contestants to create an outfit in “Steampunk Chic.” But how do we recognize steampunk when we see it? The film La Cité des enfantsis often cited as an early example of the steampunk aesthetic, but is it, really? Appearing Steampunk will discuss steampunk’s neoVictorian aesthetics, themes, and clichés, drawing on La Cité des enfants and similar films to track the genre’s manifestation in cinema.

Dru Pagliassotti is a professor of communication at California Lutheran University and the author of the award-winning steampunk romance,Clockwork Heart. The second book in her trilogy, Clockwork Lies: Iron Wind, was released on March 15. Pagliassotti’s areas of academic research include steampunk romances and comic books, and the global spread and Western reception of yaoi manga.